A young man survived survived a 100-foot fall from a bridge after the leg of his trousers snagged on scaffolding as he was just inches from the ground.

Doctors believe the Carl Morgan, 18, who suffered horrific injuries, is the first person to live after plunging off Sunderland's landmark Wearmouth bridge.

The call centre worker from Hendon, Sunderland, was staggering home from a nightclub after celebrating his 18th birthday when he somehow collided with railings and tumbled over the top.

As he plummeted towards the concrete his fall was broken by a wooden scaffolding crash deck.

He bounced off and luckily his trousers became snagged on a metal spike which impaled his ankle - leaving him hanging inches above the ground.

He said: "The next thing I remember is being at the bottom of the bridge with some man asking me my date of birth and putting a coat over me to keep me warm and then waking up in hospital with all my family around me."

"When I was in hospital they told me I was the only person they had known to survive a fall from that height and only damage my legs."

Surgeons pinned his left leg together and tried to save his right during a ten-hour operation at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

He was given three full-body blood transfusions, before being placed on a life support machine.

Carl spent four weeks in hospital after last August's fall and has undergone another five operations.

His right leg was amputated below the knee after doctors warned him of the serious risk of infection.

"I am just happy to be here, if it hadn't had been for my trousers - who knows?"

Workmates at London Electricity at Doxford International are now trying to raise £6,000 to buy Carl a state-of-the-art prosthetic limb.

Carl, who lives with mum Maureen, step dad Dave Gray and 20-year-old Arron, said: "At the moment I am concentrating on getting better, back to a normal life and looking towards the future."

Stepmum Sharon Kerr said: "It's a miracle he has survived. We have been told nobody else has survived that kind of fall."